"Master, is the old house in Guozhuang in the past?"

Under the night, it was remote and desolate. You could see a very large courtyard not far away. The gate of the courtyard was closed, dark and lit up, and there were no lights at all. Two very dilapidated red lanterns hung high in front of the door.

The driver slowed down. He pulled aside and stopped, turned to me and whispered to me, "It's here. I really don't know what you are doing here in the middle of the night. Be careful anyway, I'll leave."

After the driver said that, he turned around and drove away. He looked like he didn't want to stay here for a moment.

When you look closer, you will see that the gate is an old-fashioned courtyard gate of the Qing Dynasty. When you look up, you will see an ebony plaque with the words "Baojia Guozhuang".

I knocked on the door twice.

"Is anyone at home?"

After shouting a few times, I saw no one answering, and suddenly I turned around and found that there was a half-open door next to me. Seeing that there was no one around, I slowly pushed the small door open and went in.

I have a bad habit that needs to be corrected, that is, when I see such an old house that is unlimited, I always want to go in and search for some antiques to sell.

Entering through the small door, the space suddenly became clear.

The yard is very large, probably thousands of square meters! There is an old elm tree in the yard. In addition, from west to east next to the courtyard wall, there are neatly arranged stone piers that you don’t know what to do.

There was an abandoned doghouse in the corner of the wall, and there were all kinds of miscellaneous items piled up above the doghouse. I saw something similar to a wood carving, so I walked over and searched.

It is a hollow flower, bird and wood carving, which is a component on the beams of a former wealthy family.

At this moment, I heard something behind me, turned around and looked back.

Almost scared me!

In front of me was an old man wearing a blue cloth cotton jacket. The old man bent over and hunched his back with a pleat on his face. He was leaning on a crutch in one hand and a horse lantern in the other, staring at me without blinking.

"Master, what are you doing? Why are you walking silently? I'm so scared!"

The old man's voice was hoarse, and he held the crutch and said, "It's so late, what are you doing?"

I quickly lost the wood carving in my hand and defended me: "I was introduced by a friend. I came to find the descendants of the Bao family Guozhuang. Uncle, are you?"

The old man slowly shook his head with the lantern and said, "It turns out that he is looking for my lady, come with me."

I followed him like that, but with it, I stopped and started to sweat coldly on my forehead.

This old man... was wearing a pair of pure white cotton shoes under his feet. Judging from the style of the heel, he clearly showed a pair of longevity shoes.

"Why did you stop? The lady lives in the west wing."

I pointed at his feet.

The old man looked down and grinned, "It's cold, Lao Han can't eat and freeze, so he put it on in advance. Didn't he scare you?"

I hurriedly said it was okay and followed him again.

When he arrived at the west wing, the old man knocked on the door and shouted, "Miss, have you fall asleep? There are guests looking for you."

Soon, the old lady's voice came from the room, saying that who was looking for me, come in.

After entering the house, the old man lit a candle first. Then, I saw an old lady wearing a thick cotton coat and gray hair sitting on the kang smoking a dry cigarette.

The old lady looks less older than the old man, probably in her sixties or seventies. Although she is not young, there seems to be a graceful spirit in her eyebrows. This temperament is only available to the ladies of wealthy families in the past.

After the conversation, I learned that she was the direct descendant of the Bao family Guozhuang, named Bao Wenfang.

Opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared, why am I anxious to come over overnight?

Yesterday, when I heard Lao Xiong talk about the word "Baojia Guozhuang" for the first time, I always felt a little familiar, and then I suddenly thought of it.

A month and a half ago, I bought a large number of Kangding local county annals and looked at them. In one of them, I mentioned this Baojia Guozhuang.

The county chronicles record that during the Qianlong period, the male owner of Guozhuang accidentally killed a merchant due to a conflict. The male owner was very filial and was about to be arrested, so he kowtowed 999 times to the old man and cried, saying, "Mom, the kindness of giving birth! I can only repay my son in the next life!" Every time he said it, he kowtowed, and kowtowed for a day and a night.

Then the yamen sentenced him to pay for his life, and the autumn queen asked for a beheading him.

Later, this small incident was spread to the capital. After hearing this, Emperor Qianlong issued an order: "I am filial to you, and I am especially allowed to return home with a crime. After a hundred years of relatives, I came to Beijing to be punished."

Three years later, the old man passed away, and the male owner of Baojia Guozhuang kept his word. He went to the capital by himself and was beheaded.

Later, Emperor Qianlong admired this person's character, so he gave the Bao family an emerald cabbage, an imperial gift of old-age brand made of sterling silver, and a sparrow picture hidden in the palace.

Does the jade cabbage sound very familiar?

Many people say that there is only one, and it is wrong in Bay Island. There are also ones in our country, and I have seen four of them alone.

In ancient times, it was not a matter of being written in the county annals. I decided that this matter was true.

I didn't hide it, and asked the old lady straight to the point if these three things were left? If they were still kept, I would be willing to buy them at a big price.

After hearing what I said, the old lady smiled on her wrinkled face. She pointed to the house with a cigarette pot and said, "Youngsheng, I will be demolished two years ago. I don't agree, so they cut off the power for me. Look around, I don't even have decent furniture here. I can sell it, and I have sold all those things. Where will those things be left? Who asked you to come and ask?"

I said sincerely, "Auntie, it was an antique dealer named Xiong who asked me to come. He took a can of a human head from your house two years ago. I wonder if you still have any impression of it?"

The old lady turned her head and looked at the old man with a cane beside her and asked, "Wa Jia, you sold it."

The old man immediately said respectfully: "Miss, I sold that jar. I sold it for ninety yuan. I used it to buy a bag of rice and a barrel of oil."

"Ah? Master, it turns out that you only sold that jar for ninety yuan?"

The old man nodded and said yes.

I shook my head and thought to myself that the old bear was not honest. The price he sold to Wenwen's father was 3,000, but he said he had collected 2,800 yuan and only earned 200 yuan.

At this time, the wife stood up and the old man called Jiawa was about to come forward to support him. The old lady waved her hand: "Jiawa, you are so old that you can't walk anymore, so don't always think about serving me."

"Youngsheng, we haven't come to our Guozhuang for a long time. I'll take you to visit. If you like an old object, it's cheap."

I said OK.

He came to the yard with a horse lantern. The old lady pointed to the row of stone trunks and said to me: "These stone trunks are used to tie horses. Decades ago, our Guozhuang was very lively. There were many Tibetan and Han merchants and residential stores. I often received some candy."

From her description, I could vaguely understand the lively level of the Guozhuang compound back then. Then I asked curiously: "Auntie, what are the cloth bags piled up in the corners of the walls for?"

"You said those?"

"That's not a cloth bag, it's a cowhide bag," the old lady seemed to have a light in her eyes. She described to me again: "In the past, Guozhuang had done three types of businesses, one was to provide inn food and accommodation, the other was to help Tibetan merchants sew tea bags, and the third was to introduce the business of both parties to get a commission."

The old lady said slowly: "These bags are the tea bags left at that time. In the past, Tibetan merchants drove horses and carried hidden tea bricks on horses. The tea bricks were made of bamboo rattan. If the tea bags were not put on, the rattan would cut the horse's back when crossing mountains and hills."

The old lady glanced at the old man and introduced: "His name is Jiawa. Since childhood, she has been a child laborer who was bought by our Guozhuang to help sew tea bags. She has served me for most of my life."

"Young Master, don't call me auntie, call me Ajia, this is how everyone used to call me."

As far as I know, "Ajia" is not a name, but a name. The hostess in charge of the family in Kangding 48 Guozhuang is called Ajia.

These women Ajia are all very powerful, they are very capable, and can manage the huge Guozhuang industrial chain in an orderly manner. Ajia and others often talk about it at home.

After moving into Guozhuang, those Tibetan merchants would try every means to please Ajia and ask Ajia to help sell the local specialties they brought to Han merchants. If this kind of business cannot be negotiated once or twice, they often have to be interviewed many times. Ajia has to help both sides. They can neither let Han merchants get a big advantage nor let Tibetan merchants suffer too much. Therefore, it depends entirely on Ajia and their words to speak, which is a test of interpersonal communication skills.

In the 1930s and 1940s, a large pot shop could earn 800,000 yuan in a year. What was the concept of 800,000 yuan at that time? A courtyard house in Beijing costs only a few hundred yuan!

Someone was curious about how the male owner of Guozhuang didn’t care about the business at home?

I really don't care.

Because these men must always be with the Tusi King to serve, similar to the nature of servants, they are called "Shigong".

For example, if the toast falls in love with a little girl in a certain Guozhuang, he will say, "Wang Shigong, I like your girl, let her serve me for two days."

In feudal society, the hierarchy is different, and the latter often dare not refuse to agree.

After thinking about it, I felt that it was not appropriate to call Ajia directly, so I called Ajia's mother-in-law.

"This stone lion is very well carved, it seems to be from the Ming Dynasty."

"Young Master, if you like it, take it away. Just give me a hundred dollars."

Too cheap, but I can't handle it.

And I am not about wine because of my drunkard. What I want is their ancestral treasures, jade cabbage, imperial-given retirement brand, and sparrow picture.

The old lady said that these treasures had been sold long ago, and I don’t believe it.
Chapter completed!